January 12, 2007

If you're like me (my condolences if so), as soon as you heard Steve say that the upcoming iPhone would run OS X, you thought to yourself, "Swell. I can run Accordance on that puppy." Well, such is not the case. As the details of the iPhone come to the surface, it is for now a device more like an iPod than a Palm Treo in that no user installable or third party applications will be available. That's a shame, as it leaves the user at the mercy of whatever apps Apple chooses to release.
Right now, on my Palm powered Samsung clamshell smartphone, I happily carry a tagged GNT and a full NRSV on Bible Reader, Planeterium and several other apps of my eclectic choosing. Plus, I'm pretty decent at stylus writing for taking notes. I was hoping the upcoming iPhone would be up my alley.
Other reasons why the iPhone prospect/approach is not for me:

I do all my main dialing through voice recognition ("Call Church Office"). Not currently available on the iPhone, though the software could be in place by June's release.

One hand operation is better with tactile buttons. This is the same reason I passed on this universal remote years ago.

I'm really looking for a device with better subnotebook text entry/note taking options, as in a touch type keyboard.

The good news is that as time goes by, things will change. The software restrictions will lesson. It's inevitable.

Joe, I thought the EXACT same thing--that the good folks at Oak Tree could write an Accordance widget that would allow us to carry the texts of our choice on the iPhone. I've been very disappointed to read over the last couple of days that the phone is a closed system. Steve Jobs is a control freak about this kind of stuff. This is the same reason that one can only change the look and feel of OS X with third party apps. Apple won't have anything to do with it.

Well, this is a shame. I use a treo and carry the Greek NT and NASB with Greek and Hebrew dictionaries installed in the reader from Olive Tree. Also I regularly use PocketQuicken on my Treo. It's a shame that Steve won't allow these kinds of things.